


Magazine Lovers

by figcracker



Category: Banana Fish (Anime & Manga)
Genre: American Ash Lynx, Ash does have trauma though, Banana Fish doesn’t exist, Fluff and Angst, Griffin does get paralysed though, Implied/Referenced Sexual Assault, Japanese Eiji Okumura, M/M, Model Ash Lynx, Nightmares, Past Sexual Assault, Photographer Okumura Eiji, Protective Ash Lynx, Soft Ash Lynx, Soft Okumura Eiji, no one dies
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-25
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-17 16:34:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,957
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28977468
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/figcracker/pseuds/figcracker
Summary: Ash is a well known New York model. His brother Griffin had just been put into hospital due to a car crash with no hope of full recovery, this sends Ash into a creative slump, losing his joy for modelling.Once he starts modelling again due to being called back for one more job, he meets a Japanese photographer by the name of Eiji Okumura.Can Eiji bring Ash’s passion for modelling back again?
Relationships: Ash Lynx & Shorter Wong, Ash Lynx/Okumura Eiji, Ibe Shunichi & Okumura Eiji, Okumura Eiji & Shorter Wong
Comments: 10
Kudos: 59





	1. All Great Stories Begin With Tragedy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, Welcome to this fic! This idea has been on my mind for a while so I decided to finally make it! 
> 
> Please excuse the post timing if it is slightly off, I’m currently trying to upload every Sunday/Monday! 
> 
> I hope you enjoy!

The coffee cup that had previously been clasped in pale hands hit the floor, the lid breaking off, the caffeine splashing against the pristine photography set and against designer shoes.

Griffin was hospitalised.

“Ash, Ash, calm down.” A muffled voice came from somewhere in front of him, probably belonging to Max but his mind was too filled with panic to properly register it.

“I am calm.”

“No, no you’re really not, please don’t do anything reckless. Griff is in safe han-“

The voice was cut off from his thoughts as he made a step back from the set, shaking his head as he moved before he was making a break for it. He could hear the sounds of yelling behind him and even the sound of footsteps but Ash knew he was faster. Snagging a coat from one of the racks of expensive clothing on his way passed to protect his thinly covered arms from the cool of the New York city streets, he continued to run.

In all truth, Ash didn’t really know where he was running to but he knew he could find out a place, he was good at that. He had noted somewhere down the line that the footsteps behind him and the yelling had disappeared and it gave him a chance to really take it in.

Griffin was hospitalised.

His brother Griffin was hospitalised due to a car crash, no other further information had been stored by Ash’s brain. He cursed himself under his breath as he slowed into a hasty walk, he knew he should’ve stayed at least a little longer so he would know what hospital Griff was in at least.

Ash shoved his hands into his pockets, finding nothing. Figures. Of course he left his phone at the studio, again, not a smart move on his behalf.

He continued walking for what must have been about ten minutes at most until his gaze was raised and turned to the left as a call of his name and a loud honk sounded out from the road. Ash’s gaze was met with a purple mohawk and a lazy smile. “Not now, Shorter.”

“Oh come on, man. I know you ran away from that shoot and everything to look all badass but at least let me give you a ride.”

“No need, I know where I’m going.”

“You obviously don’t since you’re going in the wrong direction.”

\- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Ash found himself sat in the passenger side of Shorter’s older sister’s car, the dashboard as beaten up as the last time he had sat in the seat.

Shorter wasn’t making conversation which was both making the silence appreciated and also deafening, Ash being left alone to his thoughts. His mind had delved into how to pay for Griffin’s hospital stay or if he needed anything like surgery and from the sound of what he was told, it was bad.

Ash’s thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the car coming to a halt before it moved into a free parking space. He lifted his gaze from the worn dashboard to be met with the hospital.

“Here we are.” Shorter announced as if to brighten the mood even just slightly.

“Thanks.” Came Ash’s response, moving to unbuckle his seatbelt and get out of the car.

Shorter grabbed his upper arm just before he could move out of the car, eyes meeting for a brief second of silence, the words that neither of them spoke were loud. “I’ll pick you up later if you want?”

“No it’s okay, I’ll walk back. Thanks, Shorter.”

“Oh and Ash, if you need any help, just let me know.” Ash nodded and opened the beaten up car door, exiting the vehicle so he could make his way over to the hospital entrance. Once making it in, he moved to the front desk to go and sign in so he could eventually visit Griffin if that could be possible.

After signing in, he was instructed to go sit in the waiting room, told that he would have to wait for a while until Griffin’s status could be ensured. 

So the waiting game began.

\- - - - - - - - - - -

It took approximately two hours of waiting for Ash’s name to be called by a nurse who had entered only a few moments prior, looking down at her clipboard. As Ash stood to walk after the nurse so she could take him to a more private area, he thought about how no one had come to find him. Although he guessed that Shorter may have done some damage control back at the station, saving his ass as he so usually did. Ash was moved to a room where a doctor sat at his desk, beckoning Ash to sit with him so they could talk.

“Mr Callenreese, I’m sure you understand the situation.” The doctor started, picking up a couple pieces of file paper so he could neaten them up. The name Callenreese was one Ash certainly was not used to being addressed by but he brushed it off so the doctor could continue. “Griffin is in a critical condition.”

“What does that entail? Is he going to survive?”

“Fortunately, yes he will survive. Unfortunately though, the nerve damage done to his legs in the crash is so severe that we believe he could be paralysed from the waist down.”

Ash took in the information, breathing almost a sigh of relief at Griffin being alive, his heart clenching at the next set of words. “Paralysed?”

“Yes, paralysed. Now, I know this must be difficult news to hear, I would like you to know that you can visit him though.”

“Now?”

“Yes, the nurse will take you to his room, be aware that he won’t be awake due to the trauma also done to his head.” Ash could barely nod before he was up and out of the chair again, he had to see his brother.

The nurse opened the door and stepped out first, closing the door behind Ash when he had moved out of the room. The nurse took him down a series of halls until he made it to the door labeled ‘Room 112’, letting Ash into the room.

The sight that Ash was met with made his heart clench harder than it already had previously, seeing his brother pale and covered in bandages and tubes was making him feel almost queasy.

“I’ll leave you two here for now. Visiting hours are closed in a hour.” The nurse explained before closing the door to the room. Ash pulled up a chair beside Griffin’s bed, clasping his hands together and tipping his head forward, the sting of tears made him squeeze his eyes shut.

Ash’s heart was aching.

He knew what he needed to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Kudos and comments are greatly appreciated! 
> 
> where can you find me? 
> 
> Instagram: @rabbit.bab  
> Tumblr: @figcracker


	2. Making Ends Meet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to chapter 2! We get a little look into Ash’s life in this one.
> 
> I hope you enjoy reading!

It had been five months since Griffin’s accident, everything had turned back to normal in its own way besides one thing in particular.

Ash had quit modelling back when Griffin was in hospital, he knew he couldn’t multitask with caring for Griffin and doing his modelling work. It had been a surprisingly easy job on his part, all he really had to do was quit and then let his team do the majority of the work. Of course he knew it was selfish, but he had his brother to care about. 

So it brought him to the normality of life once more, getting up every morning, ignoring the modelling posters he was meant to sign that hadn’t been removed from his home, and assisting Griffin before going out with friends. 

Ash had enjoyed this new routine, making sure that he was there for Griffin and wasn’t out too long but also gave himself time to have fun with friends. One of the activities they typically did was going to the local bar to play pool with the table the bar owned. Most of them, besides Alex and a few others, weren’t legally allowed to drink, so pool was the highlight of the bar. 

The small bar had almost become a second home, four months of going there at least twice a week really did make it seem special even if it was run down. 

The first month of Ash’s ‘retirement’, as the news liked to call it, wasn’t as good as the other four. Ash had to get used to caring for Griffin, he had felt many times like his world was crumbling every single time he saw his brothers face in pain but he pulled through. 

That’s what got him to playing pool with his friends in a rundown bar near China Town. 

“Oi, Ash, that one was definitely cheating!” Shorter called out from across the table, scowling at his best friend. Sing’s boos for Ash were short lived as the blond gave a nasty glare in his direction, laughter bubbling out of the younger boy instead. 

“There was never a rule that you couldn’t play when the other wasn’t looking.”

“Man, I’m pretty sure that’s a rule in most games.”

Ash snorted and shook his head, “I don’t remember it.” He moved around the table so he could take his go, bending slightly at the waist to get himself to almost eye level with the table, taking his cue and positioning it right in front of a battered red ball, gently knocking it so it would go into the pouch to the far right. 

“There’s no way you’re going to win this one.” Shorter muttered under his breath after watching Ash’s move, moving into a similar position that Ash had to then take his go. 

The two boys continued playing for a while more until Ash’s phone began to ring, pulling it out of the back of his jean pocket to look at the caller ID. 

Jessica. 

Jessica never called Ash unless it was an emergency, even when he was working at her agency. He stared for a few more moments until the call dropped, multiple quick paced messages came through at the top of his phone before the call came back up. Ash excused himself from the group, saying that Kong or Bones could take over his go. 

Ash stepped outside, pressing the accept button, lifting the phone to his ear. He immediately got a scolding of not picking up on the first call, “Ash! Why didn’t you pick up the first time? This is serious!”

“Jessica, why are you calling me exactly? Is there an emergency?”

A pause came from the other side of the phone, making Ash purse his lips. “No, it’s not a massive emergency but... you’re not going to like this.”

“If this is about modelling, then no.”

“But Ash-“

“I said no, I have to take care of Griffin, you know his condition.”

“Would you at least hear me out? I have plans to help with Griffin.”

Ash paused himself after her response, she sounded stressed, he could at least listen to her speak for a bit. “Go on.”

A sigh could be heard from the other side of the phone, presumably from relief. “Thank you. Now, we have two photographers coming to New York with a very specific requirement list for modelling. Thing is, we would ask someone else but no one else fits the quota.” She seemed to shuffle through a few pieces of paper before continuing, probably finding the requirements list. 

“So, we’re asking you to do this last job. We can have someone take care of Griffin and it would be the final job we ask you to do.”

Ash took a moment to consider it all. If Griffin was looked after then maybe he could go and try out? Just to help the company. “Okay.. I’m not saying a flat out yes or no.” He sighed quietly, “Can I meet them and then decide if I want to work with them?” 

“Oh! Yes of course you can do that, they arrive tomorrow. If you could come to the agency at twelve?” 

“Yeah, I can do that.”

“Brilliant. Thank you so much Ash, even if you don’t take the job, thank you for at least considering it.”

“No problem. Bye, Jessica.” 

The call cut off as he hit the end button, standing with his gaze back onto his phone. Ash took a few moments of staring at the blank screen before he tipped his head back to gaze at the sky. Was he really happy with doing the job?

Ash brushed off the thought, he’d go in tomorrow and he’d meet them. He could decline the job if he wanted to.

He moved away from the area he was standing in, slipping his phone back into his pocket to walk back into the building. 

Ash could deal with it all tomorrow. 

\- - - - - - - - - - 

Ash woke up earlier than he needed to. He wasn’t nervous but he certainly wasn’t calmed by the idea of meeting new photographers, especially not when he had already quit. 

It didn’t take long for him to get dressed and ready, he hadn’t been given a quota on what to wear, assuming that they’d give him clothes if he agreed to the photo shoot.

Ash eventually headed out of his apartment, locking the door behind him, walking down the hall and taking the elevator down to the ground floor, leaving through the front door to start his walk. New York was colder during that time of year, still, it wasn’t quite winter yet. It sent a gentle chill through Ash’s body, making him shudder to begin with before he got used to the temperature change. 

He had memorised the way to the agency like the back of his hand due to the fact that he had been working in modelling since he was thirteen. Ash hadn’t started out with Jessica in charge, she had come around when he was fifteen, entering his life and taking over the job of boss at the agency, like a hero in disguise. She changed Ash’s view on modelling completely, and really she was the only reason he stayed in the industry. Putting her hero-like motives for Ash aside, he also enjoyed her family too, even Max at times. 

They were like parents to him, they made him comfortable and even gave him the key to their home if he ever needed anything - or to even just come and see Michael, their son who had taken a liking to Ash. A small smile wormed its way onto his face at the thought of it all. 

A call of his name broke him out of his thoughts. 

“There you are, Ash!” Max’s voice called out from a little further down the road 

Ah, yeah. Ash hadn’t spoken to Max properly since he had ran out of the photo shoot, that was probably an issue. “Hey Max.” Ash replied after moving closer to the building. 

A pair of hands fell onto his shoulders, the taller man gazing down at him with a rather stern gaze, “You never called me.”

“Sorry about that. I had responsibilities.”

Max paused for a moment before asking carefully, “How is he?”

“Struggling but it’s fine, it’s routine now anyway.” 

Max gave a sympathetic gaze, making Ash scoff, “Stop looking at me like that, old man, let me go in and get this over with.” At his words, Max let him go and ushered him inside the large building.

They checked in at the register, the pleasant reception lady who used to sneak him mints when he was fifteen when he wasn’t under the watchful gaze of the men who ran the agency previously, gave Ash a smile. It was like clockwork, just like it had been five months ago when he still came to the agency often for photo shoots. 

It felt natural. It felt rather warm, an odd feeling for a place he used to despise even looking at. Ash guessed it was Jessica and Max’s doing for the new found emotions towards the place 

Ash and Max took the elevator up to the seventeenth level, the elevator giving a soft ding before the doors slid open. Jessica seemed to have been waiting for them as she had obviously been loitering around the elevator doors, failing to look unsuspicious. “Oh, Ash! You’re finally here. I’ll take him from here, Max.” Jessica spoke up, clasping her hands together with a smile, waving Max off as she moved closer to the pair. 

She greeted Ash properly, giving a smile before guiding him into a walk towards what Ash guessed was the area where the photographers were. 

“Okay, so, here’s the run down of what we’re going to talk through.” 

Ash zoned out slightly during that moment, it was always the same and he always moved away from the ‘script’ anyway. He knew the basics, he had been doing it for four years.

Jessica continued talking, they rounded a corner and Ash was met with the view of two Japanese men, one who looked significantly younger than Ash himself from just the look of him. 

Ash was unimpressed until the ‘younger’ boy looked up at the noise of Ash and Jessica approaching. 

Chocolate brown eyes met jade. 

Ash could’ve sworn that he felt his heart stutter in his chest at the sight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Kudos and comments are greatly appreciated!
> 
> where to find me?
> 
> Instagram: @rabbit.bab  
> Tumblr: @figcracker 
> 
> feel free to come and chat!


	3. Chocolate Brown Eyes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! Welcome to chapter three, this one is longer than the previous two so I hope you enjoy!
> 
> Please read the end notes for some information!

Ash really hadn’t expected the eyes of the boy who had been seemingly adjusting some kit that the two photographers had brought with them. The boy in question wore a soft blue sweater-vest over a long-sleeved white button up and dark denim jeans that clung to his legs. He had fluffy black hair, skin that had the shade of tea-stained paper and gorgeous chocolate brown eyes.

Ash hadn’t realised brown eyes could be that captivating.

Ash was snapped out of his thoughts once again at the sound of his name, “Ash, this is Ibe and Eiji, Ibe and Eiji, this is Ash.” Jessica introduced them with a smile, stepping away from Ash so he could give a proper introduction although he seemed slightly stuck to the spot.

The boy - now known as Eiji - stepped forward with a smile, “Hello, Ash, nice to meet you.” His accent gave Ash’s name a ‘shu’ noise to it. Eiji’s English seemed to be good, not amazing but good enough to certainly understand and speak, Ash found himself impressed.

Ash took a few seconds to gather himself before speaking up, “Hello, it’s nice to meet you as well.”

Ibe’s introduction was much the same afterwards, this then leading into Jessica speaking again.

“So, if we could all move over here to start.” She gestured towards a little seating arrangement that Ash felt was a little too familiar to him with the number of times that he had sat there.

The conversation started off the same as it had done with every other photographer that had worked with them. Jessica spoke for a while about the job and the length of time, letting anyone speak up if they wanted to throughout her talking. She went over the basics of things that would be happening, letting Ibe and Eiji know that they could use anything they wanted at the agency and could even request things if they needed it.

Then came the interesting part, the part where the photographers could speak and where Ash could go over his own set rules.

Ibe started speaking, “The plan for the project is to gather photos for the title ‘City Life’. We really want to capture what it is like living in New York.” The older Japanese man explained, giving a glance to Eiji who sat beside him, seemingly concentrating on Ash.

“Ah- yes, that is the plan.” Eiji seemed to register that he should step up and speak, nodding as if to confirm what he himself was saying. After this, Ibe continued a little about the thoughts they had on it.

They ended up landing on the topic of personal work.

Ash hated personal work with a burning passion, the idea of someone being in his space and taking photos of him when he was supposedly off the job was not appealing in the slightest. He was about to speak up against it until a very excited Eiji chimed in.

“Oh! I would like to use personal work, it is very interesting.” Brown eyes were lit up as he spoke.

Ash suddenly realised that he couldn’t say no to doing the personal work, Eiji’s enthusiasm seemed too precious to break and he certainly didn’t want to be the one to do it. Odd, usually Ash would be fine turning people down.

After a moment longer of them all talking about the personal work that Ash would be doing, going over a few things as a possibility so they could continue later. This soon moved onto what Ash wanted from it all and his own rules. Ash’s favourite part, the place where he set down his rules and showed his control over the situation. It gave him the security and the genuine feeling of calm.

“I have a few rules to set down before anything happens,” He began, Ibe’s and Eiji’s attention moving to him, “they’re simple but I do push them.” Ash explained a little before continuing, pulling up three fingers to put them down every time he listed a rule.

“One is respecting my boundaries. If I tell you I don’t like something, it should be an immediate response.” He paused to get the reaction he wanted before continuing, placing down a second finger as he began, “Two, do not touch me. If you need me in a certain position, tell me until it’s okay. And finally, three, do not get involved with my personal life as much as you can. I know this may be a little more difficult since we’re doing personal work though.”

Once Ash had finished, he leant back in his seat, crossing his arms over his chest as he waited for the response. The response came in the form of a nod and a rather confident gaze from the younger Japanese boy, even letting out a hum.

This was good enough, Ash hoped they would just follow through with it.

After a pause, Jessica clicked her tongue to gain attention before smiling, “I believe that’s all we need to talk about? We could either start photos now or we could simply have coffee?”

The group seemed indecisive for a bit before deciding on just coffee since the project would be over the course of a few months and there wasn’t much to go over with taking photos.

——————

As Jessica and Ibe talked over drinks, Eiji had moved to crouch down by the equipment again, seemingly adjusting a few more things.

Ash couldn’t blame himself for being a little curious.

“I didn’t realise they had kids as assistants in Japan.” He commented, tilting his body forward ever so slightly to gaze over Eiji’s shoulder from the place where he was stationed. His words seemed to capture Eiji’s attention, gaze turning to look up at Ash from over his shoulder.

“I am older than you.” Eiji replied, lips pursing and cheeks puffing out a little at Ash’s assumption.

“How old are you then? You really do look like you could be in middle school.”

“Nineteen.” Eiji replied with a small hum, briefly turning towards what he was crouching down in front of. “Can I take picture?” He asked after a pause in the conversation, pulling out a camera to hang around his neck.

Ash didn’t see why he couldn’t, he was there to photograph Ash in the first place.

“Not of the face.” He found himself saying instead of probably a better response that could’ve been said. Eiji seemed happy with this though despite the conditions given, standing up with the camera cradled in his hands. Eiji turned the camera over in his hands a few times before he turned it on properly, gently taking the lens cap off the end to then lift the camera to his face to check if the view frame was good. Once the Japanese boy seemed content with the camera, he lowered it from his face to hold gently in his hands. Ash was slightly confused by the not sudden orders for him to get into positions or move into places so Eiji could take photos, instead, he got a soft scowl before the other boy spoke.

“You do not need to stand so close, go do normal things.” Eiji explained, looking as if it were the most obvious thing to do.

Ash was a little taken aback by the smaller of the two pretty much shooing him away to go do ‘normal things’ – whatever he meant by that. He replied with a slow nod, watching as a smile curved at Eiji’s lips at the obviously correct response on his part. “Good, I will take picture when it is good.”

After that interaction, Eiji had stepped around Ash before walking off to a window to go look out at the city, looking amazed by the views that he saw, gently lifting the camera to his eye again to snap a photo of it. Ash couldn’t help but be amused by Eiji’s amazement to a place that didn’t seem so amazing to him anymore.

Eiji continued walking around the area to look at objects or things around the studio although he didn’t stray far from wherever Ash had been standing. Ash soon found out why this was the case when a small voice startled him, making him turn around from where he was starting up the coffee machine. The source of the voice happened to be Eiji who was looking back down at his camera again, “Want to see?” He asked, gaze lifting to meet Ash’s, eyes wide and expectant. It reminded Ash a little of Michael whenever he asked to play, it was cute.

“Sure, why not.”

Eiji seemed happy with his response once again, stepping to stand next to Ash. He flicked across a couple photos quickly before coming to presumably the first one. It was the ceiling of the elevator in the building, obviously from when he rode it up to the floor they were currently on. It was highlighted on the words that had been messily scrawled in the corner of the roof that were so faded you could barely read it; it had been from when Shorter was drunk but also wanted to go with Ash to grab his things from the studio. Ash had never fully remembered why Shorter thought it was a good idea to write ‘fly high’ with a messy heart next to it on the ceiling of the elevator but it always made Ash smile so that was all that mattered. Once Eiji guessed Ash had looked at it for long enough, he flicked to the next one which was the photo Ash had seen him take of the view to outside. For a second, Ash squinted at the photo. He had seen New York thousands, no, millions of times in his life but for some reason the photo looked different. The sky had cleared a little of the grey hue it had held earlier that morning, instead peeks of blue could be seen through the clouds. The buildings looked different on camera, they looked more defined, sharper but they certainly looked more inviting despite this change. Ash was about to open his mouth to ask how Eiji did that with the camera, but they were moving on.

The next few photos surprised Ash again, not because Eiji had managed to change his view of something but because Ash himself was in them. The first thing he noticed was how Eiji really hadn’t taken pictures of his face, all the photos were angled either, so his head wasn’t in shot or he had his back to the camera. There were pictures of him leaning against a counter in the kitchen on his phone when he had been messaging Shorter about how he didn’t need to pick him up, ones of him sitting at the table with Jessica and Ibe when he had briefly talked to them and finally the most recent image was him starting up the coffee machine. The last photo really stood out to him, the angles were perfect even though Ash hadn’t been posing or doing anything besides trying to make himself a coffee. The shadows were perfect too, the way they accented the creases in his clothing and the way you could see the outline of his phone through his jeans where he had lazily slipped it into his back pocket.

Ash decided it was probably the simplest but probably his favourite photo of himself. A photo he wouldn’t mind seeing of himself again, which landed it in the free space of ‘Ash’s favourite photo ever’. Ash was snapped out his mind when Eiji’s voice startled him once again, (Ash never got startled, why was this Japanese boy changing so many things for him?) “Huh?” Ash replied, internally wincing at his own words.

“I said, do you like them?” Eiji repeated, that same expectancy from earlier flashing in his eyes as if he desired Ash’s approval for his work.

“Oh. Yeah, I like them.” Ash replied simply. He had more feelings for them than just ‘like’ but Eiji didn’t need to know that. Those thoughts, particularly on his ‘favourite photo’, were for Ash and Ash only. Eiji nodded, pleased with any feedback that could be provided to him, looking down at the camera for a few moments to gaze over the photos before he lifted his head again to meet Ash’s eyes.

“I am glad you do.” Eiji replied, stepping back slightly so he wouldn’t be in Ash’s way before he moved away completely to presumably go and show Ibe his small victory. For not the first time that day, Ash couldn’t help but be amused by Eiji.

——————

The day went on much the same for the next few hours. Eiji and Ash ended up sitting with the adults, listening to them talk about the plans. This continued until Ash got a phone call, the buzzing making itself known in his back pocket where the noise came from, excusing himself from the table to answer the phone. The ID read ‘Shorter’, meaning he could pick up after a few extra rings than normal. When he did pick up, Shorter’s voice erupted from his speaker, making Ash scrunch his nose slightly, “Slow down, tell me what you want.”

“Ash! Let’s go to the bar as soon as you’re finished today.” Shorter’s excited voice spoke again, “Oh, look outside by the way.”

Ash reluctantly looked out of the window, eyes catching a head of purple hair, “Why are you even here right now?”

“You should be more excited to see me, Lynx.”

“You have your hopes up high, Wong.”

“Fair, fair. Now, would you come to the bar with us once you’re done?” Shorter asked again. Ash watched as Shorter looked back up at the building, eventually catching the window Ash stood in, giving a little wave as if they weren’t on the phone to each other.

“Maybe.” Ash responded, turning to look over his shoulder at the table he could barely just see around the corner, a head of fluffy black hair catching his gaze for a moment. “You could probably come up here, Max will let you.” He hummed after a moment of thought, gazing back out of the window to watch Shorter again.

“Alright, Jessica won’t kill me for it this time?” Ash couldn’t help but chuckle over the thought, shaking his head before realising Shorter couldn’t see.

“Hopefully not, but there’s only one way to find out.” Ash replied, voice humming with amusement.

They ended up saying goodbyes, Ash moving into the open area near the elevator. He could tell that Jessica would be getting slightly annoyed by his absence, but Ash knew there wouldn’t be too many consequences since the meeting would be ending soon.

Not too long later, the ding of the elevator made Ash pick up his gaze, the door opening to reveal his best friend. Shorter looked up at the opening of the door from where he was looking at something on his phone, grinning at Ash. Ash beckoned him in, Shorter following Ash as the two boys walked to the room where Jessica and the photographers sat.

“Ash there you are,” Jessica paused when her gaze landed on Shorter, “and hello, Shorter.”

Shorter gave a nod of greeting before speaking up, “I’m just here to snag Ash once he’s finished.” Ash scowled a little at Shorter’s words before Jessica interrupted.  
“Well, we are almost done.” She seemed not too annoyed although Ash knew that meant a phone lecture later for ‘not caring enough about the job’. Ash’s eyes trailed her face, noticing the thought process that the woman was obviously going through. “Ash, how about you take Eiji? I’m sure he wants to see New York.”

There it was. The condition.

It was silent but Ash knew that it meant he wouldn’t be able to go without obeying. He was close to speaking before Shorter butted in, “We could certainly take one more, I mean, surely we’re the best tour guides. Isn’t that right, Ash?” Ash had to nod as if his head was attached to a string. Ash knew he’d have to say yes anyway, it was just handy that Shorter did it for him.

“Perfect. That’s alright, Ibe?” Jessica asked, smiling at the two photographers, “Eiji should take a camera so he could get some photos now.” She added shortly afterwards.

Ibe confirmed that Eiji could go, making Jessica smile wider.

Eiji for the whole conversation was silent but he seemed interested, wide eyes watching Ash and Shorter with somewhat amazement, it again reminded Ash of Michael whenever he was curious about things. Childlike.

——————

So, there they ended up, standing in the elevator down to the ground floor. Ash and Shorter stood to lean against the mirror that sat against the back wall, Eiji standing opposite them beside the number pad which located your destination.

Shorter was the one to break the silence, “So, Eiji, how well can you play pool?”

“Pool?” Eiji repeated, looking up from where he was fiddling with his camera once again. “What is pool? Water?” He asked, looking slightly confused.

“Oh, not water. It’s slightly hard to explain but we can teach you.” Shorter replied with a grin, “Ash is a little too good for everyone’s liking in the group.” Ash felt a nudge against his ribs, Shorter’s elbow being the cause, making him give a grunt of protest, lazily swatting at Shorter before he crossed his arms.

“That is good.” Eiji gave a small smile, gaze drifting to Ash.

Ash had no issues with people staring at him, it was something that Ash was used to due to being in the modelling business and just generally. There was something different though with Eiji watching him, big brown eyes fixed on him was making him almost nervous. It felt different somehow.

The elevator let out a ding and the gaze was dropped from him, turning upwards towards the floor number instead. Once the doors opened, they all exited the elevator, walking towards the exit of the building, the lady at the reception giving them a wave goodbye, Eiji returning this wave. Ash dropped back a little, watching as Shorter and Eiji made small talk in front of him as they began in the direction of their usual bar and meetup spot.

Ash felt brown eyes on him once again, looking to meet Eiji’s gaze before Eiji offered a soft smile, turning back to Shorter not long after.  
It was going to be a long day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for my large absence of pretty much a month (minus one day)! School has really been an issue. In regards to this fic, it will be continued but I've decided that I'll be uploading new chapters for this once I've actually finished the whole story. I will be putting some other things up in the meantime though so please do go check those out too!
> 
> Thank you for reading :)
> 
> where can you find me?
> 
> instagram: @rabbit.bab  
> tumblr: @figcracker


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